AA warns petrol prices to rise

The AA have released their Fuel Price Report for May – and it’s not good news for car owners.

The continued increase in world oil price has already pushed prices in the UK up to 109.10p per litre… and unfortunately it doesn’t look like it’ll be decreasing any time soon. Since mid-April, the average price of petrol has risen almost 2p, and diesel is up 2.19p. This averages 109.10p per litre.

Wholesale petrol prices rose 2p in a week, which means retailers are passing on the cost at the pumps. This could see an increase to over 110p per litre very soon. On 3rd March, prices hit a low point of 101.65p, so in less than 90 days, prices have increased 7.6p per litre.

So why are oil prices rising? Worldwide, we’ve seeing an increase of $5 a barrel over the last month. Investment banks say this is down to a variety of factors – including the forest fires in Canada, unrest in Nigeria and supply disruption through the oil market, which has meant supply isn’t meeting demand well enough.

In turn, the supermarkets, who have been responsible for ‘price wars’ previously, have risen their rates by 2.2p per litre.

Speaking about the latest report, AA president Edmund King said: “Compared to this time last year, petrol is still 6.5p and diesel 11p a litre cheaper. However, that’s not the point. UK drivers do not like pump price shocks and a £4-£5 surge in the cost of a tank of fuel is enough to disrupt family and business budgets. What has happened since March has re-energised fears of rocket and feather pump prices – something the UK motorist hoped had gone away for a long while”.

Do petrol prices concern you? Don’t forget – you can save on petrol costs by sharing them with a passenger, or by alternating driving. Offer out your spare seats now to find someone going your way.